Humble, Texas

Humble (/ˈʌmbəl/ UM-bəl) is a city located in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston metropolitan area.[6] Famously, Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas.[7] Humble was home of Humble Oil, a predecessor of Exxon.[7]

City of Humble
City
Downtown Humble facing east (2005)
Motto(s): 
"Where people make a difference"[1]
Location in Harris County and the state of Texas
Coordinates: 29°59′42″N 95°15′54″W
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyHarris
Incorporated1933
Area
 • Total9.82 sq mi (25.45 km2)
 • Land9.76 sq mi (25.29 km2)
 • Water0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2)
Elevation
90 ft (27.4 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total15,133
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
15,824
 • Density1,620.65/sq mi (625.72/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
77338, 77346, 77396
PO Boxes
77347
Area code(s)281
FIPS code48-35348[4]
GNIS feature ID1374175[5]
Websitewww.cityofhumble.net

As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,133.[8] The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble addresses.

History
Sign marking Humble

The first settlers began moving into the Humble area in the early 19th century. Joseph Dunman is believed to be the first settler in 1828. A ferry was built nearby, across the San Jacinto River. The area of Humble became a center for commercial activity due to the region's large oil industry.[9]

The city got its name from one of the original founders/settlers, Pleasant Smith Humble, who opened the first post office in his home and later served as justice of the peace.[10] In 1883, a city directory reported that he operated a fruit stand. In 1885, he was a wood dealer, and in 1900, the District 99, Justice Pct. 4, Harris Co., Texas Census reported his occupation as attorney at law.

Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 1900 when oil was first produced there.[11] The first oil was produced a couple years after the famous Spindletop discovery in Beaumont, Texas. Railroad linkage was established in 1904, and shortly thereafter the first tank car of oil was shipped out of Humble's oil field. By 1905 the Humble oilfield was the biggest producing field in Texas.[11] The Humble oil fields are still active and have produced over 138,835,590 barrels (22,073,095 m3) of oil. The town was the home of the Humble Oil & Refining Company, founded in 1911, a predecessor of Exxon. When the oil boom receded, many land owners returned to truck farming, dairy farming and the timber industry.

Humble remained a rather small, quiet city until the opening of the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969.

Humble City Council passed a public smoking ban on February 23, 2012.

Geography
Map of Humble

Humble is located at 29°59′42″N 95°15′54″W (29.994920, -95.264873).[12]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.9 square miles (26 km2), of which 9.9 square miles (26 km2) is land and 0.10% is water.

Downtown Humble is located on a salt dome. Most of the petroleum production is shallow and encircles the city by about a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) radius.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Humble has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[13]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19401,371—
19501,3881.2%
19601,71123.3%
19703,27291.2%
19806,729105.7%
199012,06079.2%
200014,57920.9%
201015,1333.8%
2019 (est.)15,824[3]4.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 14,579 people, 5,460 households, and 3,652 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,477.5 people per square mile (570.3/km2). There were 5,908 housing units at an average density of 598.7 per square mile (231.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.24% White, 14.49% African American, 0.68% Native American, 3.22% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 9.07% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.36% of the population.

There were 5,460 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,834, and the median income for a family was $46,399. Males had a median income of $34,434 versus $26,988 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,678. About 12.2% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

CityData.com states that the crime rates for Humble were higher than the average United States crime rate. The average crime rate for cities with under 30,000 people was 294.7; Humble's crime rate was at 593.7.[15]

Economy

Petroleum has been the basis of Humble's economy since its beginning. The city was the namesake for Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later merged with the Exxon corporation.[11]

Arts and culture

Museums and other points of interest
The exit ramp for Downtown Humble on Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59

Parks and recreation

The Shell Houston Open, an annual PGA Tour event is played at Golf Club of Houston, located in an unincorporated area near Humble. The event takes place at the end of March-beginning of April. The event has historically been one week before the Masters Tournament, the season's first major.

Government
Humble City Hall

County, state, and federal representation

Harris County operates a tax office at 7900 Will Clayton Parkway in Humble.[17]

The U.S. Postal Service operates the Humble Post Office.[18] Some locations in the City of Houston have Humble mailing addresses.[19]

Education

Primary and secondary schools
Humble High School

Humble is served by the Humble Independent School District.

The city of Humble has three public elementary schools:

  • Humble Elementary School[20]
  • Jack M. Fields, Senior Elementary School[21]
  • Lakeland Elementary School[22]

Humble is served by Ross Sterling Middle School[23] (formerly by Humble Middle School), and Humble High School

All students attending the Humble Independent School District have the option to apply to Quest High School, a magnet high school that as of the 2016–2017 school year is contained within but separated from Humble High School.

Aldine Independent School District is constructing Jones Middle School (initially named Townsen Boulevard Middle School) in the Humble city limits.[24]

A Catholic K-8, St. Mary Magdalene School, is in Humble.[25] The closest Catholic high school is Frassati Catholic High School in north Harris County; the planners of the school intended for it to serve Humble.[26] Holy Trinity Episcopal School, a Christian PK-5 school, is in Harris County, in proximity to Humble.[27] Christian Life Center Academy, a private school, was in a section of the city of Houston, near Humble, while having an Humble postal address.[28] It is now in the Kingwood area of Houston.

Community colleges

Lone Star College System (formerly the North Harris Montgomery Community College District) serves the area.[29] In 1972, residents of Humble ISD and two other K–12 school districts voted to create the North Harris County College District. The community college district began operations in the Harris County/Montgomery County's northern hemisphere in the fall of 1973.[30] The Humble area is currently served by Lone Star College, Kingwood which operates the Humble Center for outreach.[31]

Public libraries
Octavia Fields Branch Library

The Harris County Public Library Octavia Fields Branch Library is located at 1503 South Houston Avenue in Humble. Humble's first public library opened in 1921 with the books stored in the high school. In 1923 the library was split between the Humble High School and the Woodward School at Moonshine Hill. In 1926 the library moved to a church. In 1928 the library moved into the then-new Humble courthouse. In the early 1930s the library moved to city hall. In 1932 the city hall courtroom became a reading room. In the early 1960s a man named Tom Shelton donated a house and lot at the intersection of First Street and Avenue D. The house was remodeled and opened as the Shelton Memorial Library. On October 9, 1969 the library moved to 111 West Higgins Street. It received the name Octavia Fields Memorial Library from Octavia Fields, the grandmother of Jack Fields, a former Congress member. The current 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) branch opened on June 27, 2001.[32]

Some areas outside of Humble with Humble, TX postal addresses are in proximity to the Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library at Mercer Park.[33] The 10,137-square-foot (941.8 m2) branch opened in 1986.[34] It was constructed on donated land. It was named after Baldwin Boettcher, a German settler. His descendants deeded the homestead to Harris County. The plans stated that the Boettcher staff would assist the Mercer Park staff in finding any botanical reference books that they or the public need.[35]

Media

Humble news is covered by three community newspapers: Community Impact Newspaper Lake Houston/Humble/Kingwood edition (website), The Tribune Newspaper (website) and The Observer Newspaper. Community Impact Newspaper is owned by John and Jennifer Garrett and covers several Houston Metro suburban areas[36] as well as Austin and DFW Metro markets. The Tribune is locally owned and operated by Cynthia Calvert and Larry Shiflet. The Observer is owned by the Hearst Publications. It is also the business location of Christian Radio Station KSBJ ksbj.org, call sign 89.3 FM radio.

Infrastructure

Health care

Harris County Hospital District operates the E. A. "Squatty" Lyons Health Center in Humble. The clinic opened in 1991, replacing a clinic in Bordersville.[37]

Humble Surgical Hospital[38] is a multi-specialty, physician-owned surgical hospital. Humble Surgical Hospital opened in 2010.

Postal service

The United States Postal Service Humble Post Office is located at 1202 1st Street East.[39] The Foxbrook Finance Unit is located near Humble in an unincorporated area;[40] On Monday May 10, 2008, the Foxbrook post office was dedicated as the "Texas Military Veterans Post Office" in a ceremony hosted by U.S. Congressperson Ted Poe.[41]

Prison system

Notable people

Literary references

Humble is the site of a Confederate concentration camp in Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel Settling Accounts: In at the Death.

  • Humble Municipal Court
  • Humble Criminal Justice Center and Humble Police Department
  • Harris County Courthouse Annex No. 3
  • Old San Jacinto River Truss Bridge
  • Hirsch Memorial Park
  • E. A. Squatty Lyons Health Center
  • Oil field, Humble, Texas (postcard, circa 1836-2001)
  • Former Charles Bender High School building
  • A water tower in Humble. The Wildcats is the Humble High School football team.

References
  1. "Town of Humble Texas". City of Humble Texas. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "City Of Humble". City Of Humble. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  7. "HUMBLE, TX (HARRIS COUNTY) | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)". Tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  8. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Humble city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  9. "City of Humble Texas". City of Humble Texas. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  10. "Profile for Humble, Texas, TX". ePodunk. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  11. "Humble, Tx". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  12. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  13. "Climate Summary for Humble, Texas". Weatherbase.
  14. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  15. "Humble, Texas (TX) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news". City-data.com. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  16. Archived February 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "HUMBLE." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on April 24, 2018. "1202 1ST ST E HUMBLE, TX 77338-9998"
  19. "City of Houston Annexation FAQ". City of Houston. 1996-10-31. Archived from the original on 1996-10-31. Retrieved 2018-04-24. Numerous residents of the City of Houston have Missouri City, Webster, Friendswood, Stafford, Humble and even Kingwood addresses.
  20. "Humble Elementary / Overview". Humbleisd.net. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  21. "Jack M. Fields Sr. Elementary / Overview". Humbleisd.net. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  22. "Lakeland Elementary / Overview". Humbleisd.net. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  23. "Ross Sterling Middle School / Overview". Humbleisd.net. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  24. "Jones Middle School." Aldine Independent School District. Retrieved on March 8, 2018. "Jones Middle School 20155 Townsen Blvd. Humble, TX 77338"
  25. Home. St. Mary Magdalene School. Retrieved on March 25, 2017.
  26. Dominguez, Catherine (2012-08-29). "New Catholic high school breaks ground". The Spring Observer at the Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  27. "FAQs". Holy Trinity Episcopal School. Retrieved 2020-04-20. We are located at 11810 Lockwood Road [...] We are conveniently positioned to serve families in areas such as [...] Humble, [...]
  28. "Contact." Christian Life Center Academy. Retrieved on June 19, 2015. "CONTACT US Christian Life Center Academy 6650 Rankin Rd. Humble, TX 77396"
  29. Texas Education Code, Section 130.191, "North Harris Montgomery Community College System District Service Area".
  30. "History". Archived from the original on December 22, 2002.
  31. "Kingwood College". North Harris Montgomery Community College District. 1999-02-03. Archived from the original on 1999-02-03. Retrieved 2019-12-29. The Humble Center has provided credit and non-credit courses to students residing in the Humble, Atascocita and Beltway areas.
  32. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-11-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  34. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2011-12-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  36. "communityimpact.com". communityimpact.com. Community Impact Newspaper. May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  38. "humblesurgical.com".
  39. "Post Office Location - HUMBLE". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  40. "Post Office Location - FOXBROOK". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  41. "Foxbrook Finance Post Office in Humble to be Dedicated in Honor of Texas Military Veterans". United States Postal Service. November 5, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  42. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  43. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-09-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  44. "Houston Cougars bio". Uhcougars.cstv.com. 1983-10-01. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  45. Archived January 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  46. "Bert Berry". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  47. "Dan Huberty's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  48. "Howard Hughes". IMDb. Retrieved October 19, 2012.


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